Nigerian SMS Lotteries Banned for Affecting National Bandwidth

Dec 30, 2012
Nigerian SMS Lotteries Banned for Affecting National Bandwidth
Nigerian Communications Commission imposed a temporary ban on mobile lottery services based on the assumption that the speed of the national network was impacted by too extensive use of mobile devices for betting activities.

However, although local media report that the Commission's act has not improved the situation so far, the authorities decided not to lift the ban, demanding from the providers to show that they are capable of handling such high volumes.

The trade association for telecoms companies, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, disagreed with the ban, claiming that the network congestion has been caused by floods in the southern region of the state together with the insurgent attacks on facilities in the northern Nigeria. The Association further concludes that the problem cannot be solved by banning commercial ventures such as SMS lottery.

This is not the first time that the Association has disputed decisions reached by the government agencies, causing even on one occasion the physical shutdowns of telecom facilities.

As per the World Bank statistics, the use of mobile devices in Africa has skyrocketed over the last decade, the continent closely following the leading South Asia in mobile phone usage for all kind of services, especially in financial transactions. The number of African mobile phone users has already reached almost 650 million, exceeding the figures valid for Europe and USA, while the organisation forecasts that the number will reach one billion by 2020.
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